Mandvi is a picturesque town with many old buildings. It was an important port of the Jadeja Rajputs, who claim descent from Lord Krishna. They are said to moved to Sindh when Krishna’s capital, Dwarka, was submerged by the sea. In the 1540s, the Jadejas became ruler of Kutch. Times were turbulent until the arrival of the British who brought the kingdoms under their umbrella. By then Kutch was one of the largest princely states in India and the Maharao was awarded a salute of 17 guns, the second highest in Gujarat after the Maharaja of Baroda.
During the days of sail, Mandvi prospered and was known for it's superb sailors. Ocean-going merchant vessels of Mandvi travelled between Zanzibar in Africa and Calcutta in eastern India via the ports of Arabia, Persian gulf and the western coast of India, trading cotton, rice, salt and pottery of India for ivory, cloves and rhino hide from Africa. Even Vasco Di Gama is said to have used sailors from Mandvi to navigate the stretch from Mombasa to Zanzibar.
The Maharaos, Rajput rulers of Kutch, maintained a huge fleet of cargo, passenger and war ships. The Maharaos were respected even by the Mughals, for Mandvi was one of the few important ports in India that was not captured by the Portugese and other European invaders in the 17th century.
Mandvi therefore became an important trade post for Mughal India and an important harbour for India’s Muslim pilgrims to start their pigrimage to Mecca. In the 1760s, a ship of Rao Godji of Kutch is said to have travelled to England and back from Mandvi.
Mandvi is also interesting for watching and photographing birds like the flamingos, godwits, sandpipers, gulls. There are beaches in and around Mandvi.
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